Hate Is a Strong Word
by OrigamiPaperAngel
Summary: She was surprised to learn that the annoying little shrimp actually had feelings for her. She could cope with that, but the last thing she expected was to find that she actually returned those feelings. // Jupiter x Jun oneshot.


**Author's Note:**

Why am I writing a Jupiter/Jun fic? Because it's sexy but unfortunately unpopular. Why is Jun a Team Galaxy member in this fanfic? Because I would kill to see him in one of those outfits. Kouki too! And why not Shirona?! Ohmigod, they would make Team Galaxy, like, a MILLION times hotter~ x33

/endfangirlism

Anyhow, I hope you guys enjoy this. Personally I'm not too proud of it, but I'm not too good at deciding on these kinds of things.

Enjoy! :D~

* * *

"I hate you."

It was a term Jupiter was used to hearing, especially from him. Her bitchy persona and ruthless ways merged to make her an extremely disagreeable person, and she had been told this – actually had people say that to her face, a blunt "I hate you" – many times in her life, even before she had joined Team Galaxy. It was a term she had gotten used to, and she took pride in this.

"Aww, I love you too, bozo," she replied with a grin, knowing that it bothered him to no end to be called this.

"No, really," Jun said, looking at her straight in the eyes. He was growing, she noticed. He didn't have to look up at her anymore. For some reason she found this highly amusing. "I really, really hate you."

She frowned at him, grin dissolving and indigo eyes narrowing. "I hate you too," she told him, "but I don't remind you all the time."

"I _don't_ remind you all the time_,_" Jun hissed, a dark scowl polluting his normally youthful face and making him look years older.

"Then why the hell did you just say that, out of the blue?" Jupiter snapped back. "All we're doing is walking, and then suddenly, you just tell me that you _hate me_? What's up with that? I thought that lakes were supposed to, I don't know, _calm the mind or something?_"

Jun scoffed. "Whoever told you that is an idiot," he told her, "And you're even dumber for actually believing it."

He had definitely taken it too far. There was only so much _joking _Jupiter could take before things turned ugly, as they often did when she was around. So:

She slapped him.

He punched her.

She punched him back.

The next thing they knew, they were rolling on the grasses near the lake, engaged in fierce competition that could be assessed as a cross between a wrestling match and a brutal struggle between two wild Pokemon.

After a while each Team Galaxy member seemed to become worn out from their fighting, and both stopped and lay down on the banks, soaking up the peaceful environment and watching the sun slowly descend down underneath the faraway mountains. The sky was a salmon pink with smudges of mandarin orange streaking this way and that.

They looked so serene like this, both lying on their backs next to each other, that if someone were to pass by and look on they might assume the two to be something other than enemies – friends, even!

About fifteen minutes of this, Jupiter laughed.

"What?" Jun asked suspiciously.

"It's just so ironic," she said.

"What is?" He threw in impatiently before she could continue.

It was a mixture of the weariness from their earlier clash and her being accustomed to his constant, edgy interrupting that made her simply say, "That we hate each other so much, and yet we were paired up to be partners. I was so ready to be put with Mars, or maybe even Saturn, but then you show up, and I'm like, what? Are you kidding me? But Akagi-sama was serious, and..." She stopped, closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and exhaled while saying, "...here we are now."

"I don't think he made a good decision," Jun muttered, more to himself than to her.

"Neither do I," Jupiter responded, opening her eyes halfway.

She didn't miss the flash of disbelief in Jun's orange eyes. "So...then, that means we...agree on something." He said the sentence slowly and carefully, almost as if he couldn't believe it.

She smirked. "Yep. Shocking, isn't it? That we could possibly share a common opinion on something."

A few minutes passed before Jun's: "You know what else is ironic?"

"What is?"

"The fact that we're in such a romantic setting."

Jupiter frowned at him.

"Really. I always tell you I hate you—"

"He admits it!"

"—and you say that you hate me too, but here we are, a hair's length away from each other, both lying down on the banks of a lake, watching the sun set. You can't deny, it _is_ pretty romantic for a pair that acts like a mongoose and a snake."

"Let me guess, I'm the snake?" After this small jest, Jupiter thought about it for a few moments. "But you know, you're right." She snickered. "If you were anyone else, I'd make the most out of this situation."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Just what I said. If I had been partnered up with somebody else—not a teenage snotface who picks fights with me out of the blue because he's bored, perhaps—I'd pull him—or her—into a big, wet kiss." She giggled.

Jun scowled, clearly offended. "First of all, I'm not a snotface. Second of all, I'm very mature for my age. Third, I didn't tell you I hated you because I was _bored_, and fourth of all, that's downright slutty."

"I didn't catch all of that," Jupiter said airily, "But if you weren't _bored, _then why did you say it? Because you just felt like it and had nothing better to do?"

"It's not that either."

"Then—"

"It's because of the lake."

"What?"

"The lake. Remember when we first met at the lake?"

"Oh yeah," she said, memories coming back to her. "I kicked your ass."

"It reminded me of that time. I remembered how you were back then, and how you still are now—"

"So I was right." She interrupted. "You did say it because you felt like it."

"Partly."

"No, fully."

"Partly."

"Fully."

"Partly!"

"Don't you start up with me, young man!"

Jun twitched. "Don't act like you're my mother! And don't you _ever _treat me like a child!"

"You are a young man." Jupiter said simply, not intimidated by him in the least bit. "I'm way older than you, so I'll call you whatever I damn well feel like calling you, _young man._"

"You're not _way _older than me." Jun said. "Only a bit. Like I said earlier, I'm mature for my age—"

Jupiter actually started laughing. Her cruel giggles morphed into loud, boyish hoots, and Jun could swear he saw tears in the corners of her eyes. "You—you—thin-think-that you're—that you're _mature?!_" She hooted at this again, wiping her eyes. It took her several gasps and quite a while to regain her composure, and even then she giggled. "Oh, my god. You're the most immature guy I've ever met. You're rude, self-centered, impatient as hell, insensitive, _delusional—_" she scowled at him for a moment "—and totally, utterly immature. We can't get along for more than five minutes before a nice, civil conversation transforms into a vicious spat. I bet you've never kissed a girl in your life!"

Jun was quiet for a while. "Never kissed a girl?" He finally repeated, his normally booming voice soft. "That was a little below the belt."

"So, you really haven't?" She taunted.

He looked up and glared. "I never said I haven't," he retorted, "I just said that it was below the belt."

"But, have you?"

"None of your business!"

"All right, all right. Look, we'd better go and find a place to stay – a Pokemon Center or something. It's getting dark."

She stood up and saw that the sun had almost fully disappeared under the mountains. She realized how tired she felt, and confused – this was the longest time they had ever spent talking with each other, and she actually felt a little sorry for him despite herself. A kid who had never kissed in his life? Rough.

He called her name, and she turned, pitying him even more. She had been so bitchy about it—that must have felt bad. But why was the feeling like this? It wasn't like her to sympathisize with another; so why—

All thoughts of sympathisizing with him vanished as she felt strong hands hold her head and pull her towards him. She was about to punch him for being so childish as to try to pull her down into another wrestling match when she felt hot lips on her own. Her indigo eyes widened as he told her, not pulling away, his breath hot against her ear, "There. Now you can't say that I've never kissed a girl before."

For once in her life, Jupiter was shocked senseless. Her mouth froze where he had kissed her, as, apparently as well, her brain; she couldn't say a word. "I—I..." She blinked once, twice, five times in counting, before finally being able to say, "I thought you hated me."

"I do," Jun said simply, shrugging his shoulders. He was trying to be cool, but Jupiter could see the proud, foolish grin all over his face. "I—" he looked at her with those gleaming orange eyes and again Jupiter noticed how much he had grown from that skinny little kid to a lean young man. "I hate how you make me love you." Jupiter could see his eyes sparkle hopefully at her in spite of the darkening light.

Jupiter sniggered. "You know how ridiculous that sounds?" She asked, her tone and expression taunting to hide the shock and unexpected rush of pleasure at his confession.

He shrugged again, his face heating up in a bright strawberry red. "I-It's true." He turned and started to powerwalk into the forest, calling over his shoulder, "You're right, it's getting da—mmph!"

"You aren't bad, for a beginner," Jupiter told him five minutes later as she pulled back from his wet mouth, finished with getting back at him for making her look like a fool. "With some demonstration and practice, you could be passable. Lucky for you, your teacher—AKA me—is an expert. Feel lucky."

He blinked, once, twice, five times in counting. "I _do_ feel lucky," he said finally, grinning from ear to ear.

She giggled, and it was unlike her earlier, degrading giggles; it was actually pretty and girlish.

"I'm promoting you," Jun said finally as they reached the Pokemon center and were ready to walk through the doors. They had changed out of their Galaxy uniforms and into casual clothing so as not to provoke suspicion. "I no longer hate you."

"You don't?" Jupiter raised an eyebrow at him but smiled in spite of herself.

He smiled back and said, "Right. Hate is a strong word, so for now I just..."

"... strongly dislike me?"

"Yep."

"Then I'll promote you, too." She did another one of her rare, girlish giggles and said happily, "It's a start."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Loved it? Hated it? Sucked? Rocked? Advice? Compliments? Flames?

As always, reviews of any kind are relished. x)~


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